Respect.... thy name is Clay Aiken

I, along with thousands of other Clay fans, witnessed something this weekend that I'll never forget. I witnessed a courage that one doesn't see much of anymore. I witnessed committment, I witnessed a professional musician doing his job regardless of circumstances.

I witnessed Clay Aiken sing with vertigo.

ver·ti·go: [vur-ti-goh]
–noun, plural ver·ti·goes, ver·tig·i·nes
1. Pathology. a dizzying sensation of tilting within stable surroundings or of being in tilting or spinning surroundings.

2. a reeling sensation; a feeling that you are about to fall

3. a disordered state which is associated with various disorders (as of the inner ear) and in which the individual or the individual's surroundings seem to whirl dizzily

A singer uses many different tools in producing a sound, including the sinus cavities, vocal chords, throat, and ears, to get the resonating tones they need to vocalize. To be successful, all these things need to work in unison. When one of the aforementioned is unavailable, singing is much, much more difficult, out-of-kilter, if you will.

Clay has vertigo. It started at the Long Island show. How he managed to not only perform, but to put on a show that was every bit as entertaining as his previous shows during this tour is beyond me. Most performers would have cancelled. Most performers would have put themselves before their audience and fans. Most performers wouldn't even THINK of going on stage, much less try to give as good as, if not better than, the night before, and the night before that, and the night before that.

Not Clay Aiken.

Clay chose to go on that night. Clay chose to NOT cancel. Clay chose to give everything he had to entertain his fans. Not only did he choose to do that on Thursday evening in Long Island, but also on Friday night at West Point, and Saturday night in Red Bank. What I witnessed on Friday and Saturday night left me humbled.

Humbled by Clays courage, his tenacity, his professionalism, his integrity, his complete disregard of his health as to not disappoint his fans. I witnessed a tour-de-force of a performance where Clay definitely struggled with his vertigo, his vision, his balance. Where he would hold on to either the mic stand or the stool with a death grip that turned his knuckles white. Yet he didn't falter, he didn't give up, he didn't quit. In fact, those performances are every bit as good as any other performance he has ever given.

In Long Island, Clay sang what is his most difficult song to date, 'All is Well'. He is visually struggling with his vertigo, death grip on the stool, yet this performance is so powerful that it defies description.




The Clay Aiken that I've followed for the past almost four years has, with the past several performances, changed how I look at him. I see in him a courage that I always knew was there, but this is taking it to a whole new level. I've always looked at Clay through the eyes of love, yeah, corny, I know, but I love him. Now, I see him with a respect that is so profound and deep, it defies description. I've tried to put into words in this blog how I feel and I fear I have fallen short of the mark, but all I can do is try. That's what Clay Aiken does every day of his life. How can I do any less?


Thanks to the following Clack Gatherers who took these amazing photos: MnM, ScrpKym, Invisible926.


Related Tags: Clay Aiken, Vertigo, Long Island, West Point, Red Bank, All is Well